Professors of practice

ANKIT DARJI

Owner & Director – Aashtha Analytical Training Center & Services, Vadodara

As a savvy and experienced professional, I have over 17 years of experience with success in developing and leading Analytical & Quality functions of reputed Pharma Companies. To further my career goals and skills, I have obtained a Master’s degree in Chemistry and different certifications in the workplace for professional development. I have a passion for teaching, training, and mentoring others in organisational improvement tactics, and I am committed to continuous professional growth, which allows me to stay on the cutting edge of my industry by bridging the gap between academia and industry.

Dr. C.T. Rao

Dr. C.T. Rao, former Sr. Vice President of Drug Discovery at Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company (SPARC)

Dr. C.T. Rao, former Sr. Vice President of Drug Discovery at Sun Pharma Advanced ResearchCompany (SPARC), Baroda, retired in October 2023 after 28 years of service. Prior to SPARC, he was a Group Leader at GSK Thane and pursued post-doctoral research at NIH, USA. Dr. Rao led the discovery of new cancer drug molecules at SPARC and has received numerous honors, includingResearch Council membership at Nirma and Navrachna Universities and the Prof. S.K MemorialAward from M.S. University, Baroda in 2019. With over 80 patents/publications, Dr. Rao is a distinguished figure in synthetic organic chemistry.

Mr. Jagdish Acharya

Associate professor

After completing BE(Hons.) with practice School from BITS, Pilani in 1975, Jagdish B. Acharya worked with BHEL at its plants in Bhopal and Bangalore in Production, Quality Assurance and Computer program developments for Quality. He also did several 25 to 40 hour courses in SQC, Design ofExperiments, Reliability etc. by ISI, Bangalore and Proficiency courses at IISC of PG level like PatternRecognition, Parallel Computer Architecture, Expert Systems etc. He also did MBA in Finance from Bangalore University before joining Truetzschler at Ahmedabad. Here he was responsible for all activities for Electronics of Textile machines and IT systems till retirement. Post retirement he is guiding Rotomag Motors and Controls Pvt Ltd at Anand for solar Pump Controls.

Shri Ramanan Ramanathan

Associate professor

R. Ramanan served as the First Mission Director of the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) and AdditionalSecretary at NITI Aayog from June 2017 to May 2021. Under his leadership, AIM launched numerous innovation and entrepreneurship initiatives, including:

• Establishing over 10,000 Atal Tinkering Labs in 680+ districts, benefiting over 5 million students with access to advanced technologies.
• Setting up 75+ Atal Incubation Centres with 2900+ startups, including 650+ women-led ventures.
• Creating 19 Atal Community Innovation Centres in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities and rural areas.
• Selecting 56 winners for the Atal New India ARISE challenge, promoting Make in India products.
• Building a nationwide network of 6000+ mentors.
• Forming 40+ corporate, NGO, public sector, and international innovation partnerships.

Previously, Ramanan was MD & CEO of CMC Ltd, leading it to significant growth and its amalgamation into Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) in 2015. He joined TCS in 1981 after graduating from IITBombay in Electrical Engineering. An alumnus of Harvard Business School and accredited inSustainability Leadership by Cambridge University, Ramanan has received numerous awards, including the IIT Bombay Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2023. He holds various prestigious positions, including Lifetime Chair of HBS AMP187 and board member roles in several organizations.